This invention pertains to an improvement in a protective garment, such as a protective coat or protective coveralls, for a firefighter or for an emergency worker. This invention contemplates that the protective garment is worn with a shoulder pad containing an inflatable bladder.
Commonly, a firefighter or an emergency worker wears protective garments, such as a protective coat or protective coveralls having plural layers, which include an outer layer providing abrasion resistance, an intermediate layer providing a moisture barrier, and an inner layer providing thermal insulation, and such as protective trousers having similar layers and being worn with suspenders, which have shoulder straps.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,572,991, 5,274,849, and U.S. Re. Pat. No. 34,094, it is known that an air space in such a garment provides thermal insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,849 discloses a spacer element, which is interposed between two layers of such a garment so as to maintain an air space therebetween.
This invention provides, in a protective garment for a firefighter or for an emergency worker, an improvement wherein the protective garment is provided with a shoulder pad, which is to be worn between the protective coat and a shoulder of a wearer. The shoulder pad is attached detachably, as by a hook-and-loop fastener, to a shoulder strap of suspenders worn by the wearer or to the protective coat. The shoulder pad contains a bladder, which is adapted to be inflated with a suitable fluid, such as a gas, liquid, or gel, so to increase an air space between the protective coat and the shoulder of the wearer. The air space provides thermal insulation between the protective coat and the shoulder of the wearer.